Flood Waters
by Sheff
Summary: Thunder, rain, and lightning...


"What was that? Was it an earthquake? Should we get off the street?" rang the voices around me in a confusing din, cars rolling by despite the growing panic.

People were at a dead stop as many peered down at the ground, I myself looking cautiously towards my feet. The rumble, though small, had been felt down the sidewalk by every passerby, some more worried than others. Honestly, I thought nothing of it, and others began to do as well, some starting to go about their business down the walkway as usual. The shaking of the ground was not a common occurrence in the city; completely foreign from what I knew, but whatever had caused it seemed to be dormant once more.

I'd barely taken three steps down the sidewalk when another shaking of the earth made its way through the concrete beneath, much stronger and prominent then the last. This time, screams erupted around me, ones of surprise and fear. They quickly died down as the rumbling did as well, leaving the ground calm and still like before.

Some people had fallen over, others clutching to telephone poles or even others, while I just stood there, waiting for the event to settle once again. The ruckus and panic of the people were getting to me, only wishing to make it to my workplace before I was late, mini-earthquakes or not.

Then, a man had the will to say, "Well, seems like it's finally over now."

Oh, how I resented him afterward.

First, it was only one, but then the rest followed in quick succession. Sewer cap after sewer cap suddenly burst forth from their positions on the street, rocketing skyward as pillars of water followed them, cars screeching to a halt. I watched a poor taxi launch into the air after unfortunately driving over one of the said caps just as it blew its top, the car flipping off the ground from the sheer pressure of the water. Water began to fall then, discs of metal falling noisily to the street below like missiles launched from above.

This new, yet unexplainable chaos brought unease to me this time, multiplied three fold for the people around me, the city goers becoming an uncontrollable mob as they fled from the street. I glanced both ways, being fortunate enough to not be within the center of the walkway, but the giant wall of people prevented me from avoiding the street any further. And the water still rushed from the openings in the streets, giving rain to a cloudless day.

The earthquake returned, as if to add salt onto the wound of the people, including myself. Concrete cracked, fissions formed, and even more water erupted from the ground. I watched, horrified, as the street began to crumble before me, what appeared to be a wave of pavement rushing forth, destroying the street in the process.

In utter reaction, I turned and shouldered my way through the crowd of people, the mob having thinned some in the moments I had been hesitating. Yet they still pulled at me, like a current of a river, so I only conformed and ran with a few others. The shaking and shifting beneath my feet made keeping balance an unneeded difficulty, but I managed to arrive at the street corner without falling, or better yet, being trampled.

Upon my approaching of the corner, a fire hydrant nearly exploded, water shooting like cannons from its sides and top, drenching, and even throwing, fleeing bystanders. I hastily avoided the new obstacle as I glanced over my shoulder, the destruction of the street growing ever nearer, a giant fissure opening its gaping jaws, engulfing anything in its way as it charged.

Wishing to be as far away from said street, I looked around, my head swiveling in each direction, only to discover every other street was meeting similar fates. Water flew up as well as rained down, people scattered everywhere while cars were upturned or smashed into unorganized groups. Pure chaos.

Lacking options and thinking it was the best way to go, I found the nearest door and made my way inside, being the only one on the corner to make such a decision. I found myself in an abandoned lobby, the muffled sounds of grinding rock being heard from beyond the walls. There was water here to, soaking the floor with its presence, coming from unseen cracks and openings.

Just then, one of the numerous earthquakes that plagued the city that day rushed through the building, the floor splitting before me, more water flooding upward.

Narrowly avoiding the crack, I burst through another door, this one leading to an emergency stairwell. I warily looked up, seeing the stairs lead floors and floors above, weighing my options. Stay on the ground and risk becoming a victim of the flooding, or make my way up and possibly have the building collapse. With my swimming skills lacking but my feet capable of moving, I made my decision and sprinted up the stairs just as the rising levels of water burst through the door, the bottom floor now under a foot of the liquid.

My lungs were burning as I made my way up, losing track of the floors as I went, eventually stopping to make my way farther into the building. I quickly discovered I'd picked a simple office building for my safe haven, this particular room holding dozens of cubicles, floor to ceiling windows giving a view of the city outside.

Walking down between cubicles, I peered outside, down to the street. Water was everywhere, to put it simply. Some came from the streets below, some suddenly bursting from other buildings, glass shattering as waterfalls descended onto the streets below, the possibilities endless for where it was coming from. Soon, the streets were flooded, more and more water cascading down, the results baffling.

It was only by me forcing my eyes away for a moment that let me possibly save my life. With my palms pressed against the glass, I glanced up for a mere moments, but I froze the minute I did. I was at a high enough level to see over some of the buildings, and in the distance, from the direction of the ocean, was a wave. A wall of water, rushing forward as buildings disappeared into its gullet, nothing capable of stopping it as it crashed through the streets and skyscrapers.

I took one step back, then another, before finally turning and sprinting for my life, aiming for the entrance to the stairwell once more. I could feel the approaching presence of the tsunami behind me, the whole building rumbling at the mere size and intensity of the wave. With one foot through the door, I heard the windows shatter, glass spraying across my back. I just made it into the protective stairwell when the water followed me in, feeling more like a brick wall.

I was pushed forward off my feet, watching the concrete wall before me rush closer. I only felt a sharp pain before falling into black.

Wet. I was soaking wet… and the pain. My head pounded, and I was sure there was a bump the size of a lemon on my forehead, gritting my teeth as I pushed myself to my feet, eyes opening painfully.

I was still in the stairwell, my clothes drenched. In fact, the whole room was dripping with water, showing the evidence of what had just plowed through. Removing my jacket, I did my best to ring out some of the water, but shivered anyway, the air a bit colder now before I was knocked out. In fact, it was darker as well, and I could hear the pitter patter of rain somewhere in the distance.

Sighing at my misfortune, something caused me to snap to attention. An animalistic roar, one that shook me to my core… one that held all sorts of rage and fury. Fearing what could have caused such a noise, inquisitiveness still took me by the hand and drug me forward, my jacket falling out of my grip as I stumbled out of the stairwell, still trying to get my bearings after the forceful impact with the wall.

The room that I entered was now devoid off all objects; chairs, tables, and the flimsy barriers between cubicles had now vanished, swept away by the tsunami, just a soaked rug greeting me within the room. In fact, it was an utter miracle the building was still standing at all, wondering what kind of structural damage the wave caused in the first place.

With water dripping from the ceiling, I cautiously walked across the room, fearing the floor would fall out below me with any step. The building creaked and groaned, apparently unstable from the impact of water. But, I made it to the glassless windows without another unfortunate accident, a cold wind blowing in through the new openings.

I noticed the sky had now clouded over, a harsh rain falling down, whipping against my face. Already wet to the bone, I did not give the annoyance much notice, seeing how much destruction had occurred on the city. Skyscrapers leaned half-hazardly, barely staying up with their now flimsy structures. The floodwaters had risen, lapping up against much higher floors, some buildings even completely submerged.

Before I could take in most of the dreary and hopeless scene, there was a flash of light, and I instinctively threw an arm over my eyes. Believing that the light was gone, I peeked over my arm, only for the whole building to begin profusely shaking, even the air itself reverberating. I fell to my knees then, cupping my hands over my ears as something red, yellow, and extremely large careened past the open windows, what appeared to be a wing ripping its way through a skyscraper across the street like a blunt knife, the building taking the moment to collapse onto itself. The screeches of metal on metal filled the air, vibrations shaking around me.

Soon followed an explosion so enormous I thought the building I sat within would crumble at any moment, taking me with it, a wave of nearly unbearable heat blasting through the windows. But, luck was on my side for once that day, the building calming as the fire and smoke of the explosion faded away, the rain working against the new form of destruction.

Had that been an aircraft? It was so large… yet vaguely familiar from a few days before. Strange event after strange event kept occurring in the city the past week, but this… this topped everything. The city was destroyed, its streets flooded and with me stuck within one of its very buildings as giant ships decided to crash land at precise moments.

I needed to escape.

With shaky limbs, I pushed myself to my feet, walking back to the stairwell. The building felt as though it'd tilted to a new angle, feeling the incline as I moved, my feet slipping every so often. Anymore colossal forces of nature or man would most certainly remove the last block on the weakened tower.

The urgency of possible death in my mind, I managed to arrive at the stairwell before a new realization came to me. Everything down below was submerged under the new ocean of water, inaccessible for one without gills. I had only one option, and that was to rise in hopes of finding another escape route.

I did just that, ascending the stairs, which proved to be more of a challenge then it should. The whole angle of the building made traversing some of the steps almost too dangerous, my hands constantly gripping to the bar that ran alongside them against the wall, slippery under my hands, everything from the walls to the floor covered in a cold film of water.

The building was quite tall, and I soon became lost in a pattern of monotonous, yet still fear inducing steps. Climb my way up one way, walk like I'm on a flat hallway the next, rinse, wash, repeat. The levels of floors seemed endless, wishing for the roof to arrive, but my process, and hope, was severed instantly by a barrier of crumpled steel and concrete.

I had arrived at a dead end, the ceiling having collapsed onto the stairs, not even one foot to squeeze through to continue. Giving a sigh of defeat, I trudged down to the door I had just passed, my feet and shins drenched in cool, salty water from the many puddles I waded through on the way up.

Just as I passed through the door, I was hit by a gust of cold air, shivering violently as I entered the new room… or what was left of it. The whole ceiling was missing, revealing a cloud covered sky, gray fluffs floating by above, making the day dreary. The wind swirled around me, no walls to block it either, water spraying across the floor towards me. It appeared I'd finally reached the top of the skyscraper, the rest having been destroyed by the tsunami, only a few remnants of wall teetering on weak supports near the edges.

Wrapping my arms around myself for warmth, I took cautious steps forward, simply looking around. Just like the rest of the building, the floor here was tilted as well, and I swore I could almost feel the slight quaver of the building as it tried to remain erected. I was fortunate to have gone this long without it falling, but I didn't know how much time I had left.

Just then, another furious roar pierced the air, just like the one I had heard before, twenty floors down. This time, I could sense the direction it came from, rushing across the room… roof, I stopped just near the edge of the building, glancing down to the large plummet down to the murky waters far below. But this didn't hold my attention long as I let my eyes rotate up.

It was a monster. It is the only word I could use to describe such a thing. Lizard like in appearance, it towered over the buildings that surrounded it, eyes of a raptor looking about. Its head was massive, larger than a skyscraper that lay in the water beside it, a great jaw opening to reveal rows of sharp teeth. Most of its body appeared to be underwater. Or wait. Was it itself the water? Its skin appeared to flow, being a near dark blue in color, small waterfalls even falling at times when it moved its enormous jowls.

It was horrifying, the size of it almost too much for me to comprehend, having never seen such a creature before. I knew this was the thing that had destroyed the city, which brought floodwaters to the streets below and ravaged the buildings with waves of water. It could only be it, since it was part of the water, and the water a part of it. There was no other explanation.

A streak of gold zoomed through the sky then, sending a shockwave towards me as it skimmed just right past the building, descending fast in a near dive. I was knocked back, the only thing stopping me from tumbling being a pile of rubble behind me, pushing myself to my feet as I took the few steps back to the edge, peering down at the new entity that had revealed its presence.

The golden blur of light dove to the water, now flying above the surface, turbulent waves flying up behind it. It traveled with great speed, a challenge for my eye to keep up with, and I noticed it was aiming right for the base of the monster's body above the water.

The creature did not take the approach to kindly, roaring at its upcoming opponent before unleashing spheres of orange, flaming energy (from what I could guess) from its body. They arched down before it, crashing into the water. The golden light only weaved around the incoming projectiles, even outrunning others before they hit, continuing to approach the monster.

I watched as the gold pushed its way past the monster's attacks, and suddenly, it shot straight into the base of the creature. I could see it dart its way up the thing's body then, and before the watery beast could react, the parasite within it connected at a point in its long head, the monster instantly exploding outward in torrents of water.

I suppressed an incoming cheer, overjoyed that the beast had been slain, seeing the golden light zoom back into the sky, turning in close to where I stood as it flew above the remaining rooftops. With its speed dumbed down a bit more this time, I managed to take in a few details as it passed. A short body. Long quills. Red eyes. A cocky grin on his lips.

I'd seen this person before, in the news, in any sort of media, just in a different color. A hero of the world, the fastest thing alive. I'd never paid much attention to his heroics and triumphs, but now, I gave the utmost respect to the hedgehog that flew by.

Yet suddenly, he shot off again, like a bullet out of a gun, aiming for a different portion of the city. I turned, fearing the worse, my troubling thoughts quickly becoming true.

There it was, forming into its previous size. A pillar of water spreading high and wide, features becoming clear again as it settled in its new position amongst the buildings, its look furious as the rain above now became a whipping hurricane, its emotions transferred to the skies above. Thunder rumbled as the two opponents faced each other again, one charging the other just like before.

Things became more chaotic now. Whirlwinds of water ripped across the city-dwelling sea, roaring energy shot through the air, and waves of water came, all formed by the monster. I felt at least somewhat safe at my high perch, only a spectator of this grand battle.

The gold hedgehog swerved and evaded, dodging all that was thrown at him. At one point, he dashed through the blasted windows of a nearby building, burst from the other end and skimmed across the remnants of an overpass. His movements were precise, and seemingly experienced.

It wasn't long before the hedgehog repeated the process of entering the water-beast, an enraged roar echoing through the air as the creature disappeared in an eruption of water. Not even a minute later, though, it reformed some ways away, the flying blur of gold aiming for it once more.

The process repeated itself again and again, to a point where I believed there'd be no end. Just a never ending battle between two invincible beings.

I did not have much time to consider the outcomes of all of this before the monster appeared only a few blocks away from the skyscraper I considered my safe haven. Of course, the hedgehog was instantly there, making his next offensive, charging once again. The beast had a new trick, a new, devastating, trick, its mouth opening wide as it bent low to the surface of the water, a beam of pure, blue energy shooting out, ripping a trench through the sea.

The hedgehog dodged it easily, but I watched with wide eyes as the beast's head rose, bringing the energy with it… and straight to the building I stood upon.

I heard the inevitable screech of metal as the energy sliced through with ease, the whole building shaking violently. Finally, like it should have many moments before, it began to tip, or at least the upper portion. The skyscraper had been completely cut into two, the top part lacking any more support, and now it began to fall… taking me with it.

Well, guess this was it. I had lasted as long as I could, and I felt gravity beginning to take control, my feet slipping out from beneath me, starting to slide down the floor. Metal creaked and groaned, trying to resist the tug, but it finally gave in, I myself physically feeling the last strings snapping, now in a full plummet.

I closed my eyes, waiting for either metal or concrete to rush up to me and end my fall. The floor of the building left me as I flew out into thin air, not even bothering to flail any limbs.

Yet, instead of feeling a solid impact, wind began to swirl around me. It tugged at my body and lifted me up, transferring my downward momentum to now go up. This continued for a few moments, my eyes shut tight, wondering if my mind was simply tricking me to calm me down. But it kept going, and my body twirled around and around, before finally, I shot out to the side and skidded against a rough surface.

I grimaced as I came to a stop, feeling the rock scrape against me, but other than that, I had stopped moving, simply lying on my side. Hesitantly, I allowed my eyes to open, finding water lapping across concrete only a few feet away. Groaning lightly, I pushed myself up some.

I was on a lonely stretch of crumbled rock, having once been part of a larger structure, now jutting out of the water, providing a flat surface large enough for a few people. Water surrounded it, making it appear to be a gray island, and in the distance, I saw a fading whirl of wind and water, realizing how I could possibly still be alive.

In a strange turn of events, the creature that had almost killed me ended up inadvertently saving my life, its own twister being the cushion to my fall. I laughed out loud at the prospect of such a thing, falling onto my back in relief of my continuing existence.

I remained there for a moment, hearing the distant sounds of the battle before deciding to sit up again. Just as I did, I blinked, seeing a concentrated blast of light, and another explosion of water. A ripple of wind passed by me, watching a bluish light sweep past as well. The noises and sights settled then, and the downpour of rain abruptly stopped.

Confused, I pushed myself to my feet, glancing up. The clouds were vanishing, splitting open to reveal rays of sunlight. The waters around me began to calm, the air becoming warmer. Even the thickness of it seeming to take a lighter tone.

I gave a content sigh, and expecting it, the beast never reappeared like it had done before. I smiled a bit, knowing the chaos was done and settled, seeing more light seep down to the gray city.

Up above, a golden streak split the sky for a quick second before descending behind a building, and this settled the victory in my mind. In the distance, I could hear the _thwump thwump thwump _of approaching helicopters, probably sent to take find people like me. The stranded. The surviving.

I lay down again on the growing warmth of the slab of concrete and began to wait.


End file.
